Overview of APP10th February 2009

Subject Leader Development Meeting

Outline

Leading a departmentNational Challenge and youUpdates & opportunitiesAPP overview

Leading a department

Consider the role of the Head of Department in leading change

What’s your footprint?

Are you a leader or a manager?Or a bit of both?

• In pairs, place the cards on the paper.• Which do you spend most of your time

doing?• Which have the most impact on raising

standards?

Making best use of your time

Tensions• Time constraints• Staffing issues• Paperwork• Phone calls from

parents• Behavioural issues• Marking• Lesson planning

Priorities• Collaborative planning,

sharing ideas• Rich tasks• Best practice

workshops• Tracking and

monitoring progress – ongoing intervention

Balancing act

Tensions and priorities!Getting the balance right: time vs impact, lead vs

manage

Where is your department now?Where would you like it to be?What changes need to happen?What are the implications for you as a leader and

as a manager?

Action points:

• Where do I want to be? • What actions do I need to take?

• Short term?• Medium term?

The SATs have gone!!!

What excites you?What challenges does it raise?

What are the implications for you as a leader and a manager?

National Challenge

What can it do for you?

Background to National ChallengeThe National Challenge will support schools with the lowest GCSE results, so that by 2011 in every secondary school at least 30% of students will achieve five GCSEs at A*-C including English and mathematics

The National Challenge will focus greater attention, help and resources on schools that are currently below this benchmark.

Background to National Challenge

Every child deserves a school where there is effective leadership, with a strong focus on the basics: excellent teaching and learning with good discipline. Schools should have a strong ethos which promotes high aspiration and a love of learning. They must develop the talents of all their pupils and be resolute in raising standards….

(National Challenge, DCSF 2008)

Why should you be interested?

Core Plus: specialised materials to support leaders of core

subjects

Consists of 6 elements:• Leading improvements and raising standards• Planning for progression • Improving mathematics subject pedagogy and the

climate for learning• Tracking pupils’ progress using APP and AfL• Intervention and personalisation• Securing consistent pupil performance across core

subjects

http://nationalstrategies.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/node/148800

Links to support material, including Core Plus

Updates, etc

Worcestershire KS3 results

L5+

2005

L5+

2006

L5+

2007

L5+

2008

L6+

2005

L6+

2006

L6+

2007

L6+

2008

Eng 75 74 7573

(66)39 36 33

32 (28)

Ma 76 78 7777

(77)55 60 57

58 (58)

Sci 72 76 7573

(67)42 44 42

42 (39)

Not 100% coverage of any subject – provisional result in brackets.

Worcestershire KS4 results

2005 2006 2007 2008

5A*-C 55.5 57.5 61.4 62.9

5A*-C

inc Eng &Ma43 43 47.5

47.5 (47.4)

A*-C

Maths51 52 57 58

KS3-4 2 levels progress Maths

20.4 22.6 23.3 20.9

Targets

07 result

09 LA target

2011 national target

KS3 L5+ E&M 67 76 74%

KS3 Maths

2 levels progress58 67 74%

5 A*-C inc E&M 46 55 53%

KS3-4 Maths

2 levels progress27 37 40%

Progress in Maths

KS2-425% achieved 4+ levels of progress (up from 24%)56% achieved 3 levels of progress (up from 54%)

KS3-423% achieved 2 levels of progress (from 28%)45% achieved 1 levels of progress (from 46%)31% made no progress (from 27%)

Girls make more progress on average than boys

Progress KS3-4

3 to E+ 4 to D+ 5 to C+ 6 to B+ 7 to A+ 8 to A*

2006 14.9 17.1 23.5 27.6 39.1 56.4

2007 14.8 17.1 26.4 27.6 38.0 51.8

2008 10.0 15.0 24.6 18.7 29.4 45.2

TIMSS

Latest report now availablehttp://www.nfer.ac.uk/research-areas/timss/timss_home.cfm

At year 5 62% of pupils had highly positive attitudes to maths

At year 9… 40%

TIMSS

American version:

QCA

Likely dates for twinned GCSEs: Roll out 2015, first award 2017 (current Y3)Pilots – contact your board for information

Engaging Mathematics for all learners:Case studies coming soon

More Maths Graduates: pack of resources in a box coming soon

Dates for your diary

Next SLDM Thurs 2nd JulyFinstall

APP moderation May dates to be amended

STEM event Thurs 18th June Keele Uni(peter.hough@ncetm.org.uk)

Assessing Pupil’s Progress: an overview for subject leaders

Aims for the session

• What is APP? • Why has it been introduced?• How does it work?• What does it impact on?• How do I support the lead APP teacher in my

department?

Assessment fit for purpose

Once you have had time to consider thepassages, on you tables take time todiscuss which elements of the criteria

andaims listed can be assessed usingtraditional timed,written tests.

Why has APP been introduced?

Formal recognition of achievementReported to parents or carers and next teacher or schoolMay use tests or tasks from national sources

Transitional(public view)

Broader view of progress for teacher and learnerUse of national standards in the classroomImprovements to curriculum planning

Periodic(standing back)

Learning objectives made explicit and shared with pupilsAssessment for learningPeer- and self-assessmentChild engagement and immediate feedback

Day-to-day(close-up view)

APP and AfLEvery child knows how they are doing, and understands whatthey need to do to improve and how to get there.

Every teacher is equipped to make well-founded judgements

about pupils’ attainment, understands the concept andprinciples of progression, and knows how to use theirassessment judgements to forward plan.Every school has in place structured and systematicassessment systems for making regular, useful,

manageableand accurate assessments of pupils, and for tracking their progress.

APP supports AfL

What is APP?

The process

Over time, generate evidence for a sample of students from day to day

teaching and learning

Review an appropriate

range of evidence

Decide on a level borderline and select

appropriate Assessment Guidelines sheet

Highlight assessment

criteria for which there is evidence

When appropriate, use

the profile of learning to decide upon a sub-level

Moderate assessments

Make any necessary adjustments to

planning teaching and intervention

Assessment criteria & guidelines

An ‘intelligent’ version of a sub-level

Standardising mathematics

For ‘Pupil J’:

Select the appropriate Assessment Guidelines for the level borderline at which you think the pupil is working

Begin by looking at Number, Algebra and Using and Applying.

Consider the evidence for each assessment focus in relation to the criteria and highlight those which have been met

Standardising mathematics

Look at the criteria highlighted within each assessment focus

Decide which level describes the pupil best

Record the level for each AF in the appropriate box

Repeat this process for shape, space and measure, and handling data if time allows.

Making an overall decision

Use your judgements give an impression of the best-fit level for the areas you’ve considered;

Decide whether the level is Low, Secure or High. Do this by thinking about what the pupil demonstrates:

- how much of the level?- how consistently?- how independently?- in what range of contexts?

Evidence

• Gathered only on sample students.• Needs to demonstrate independent work.• Will in most cases have direct links to U&A/process

skills.• Does not always have to be exemplar work.• Does not have to be collected every lesson.• Needs to cover a cross section of AT’s, and may cover

more than one at the same time.• Provides opportunities to talk about teaching and

learning with your department.

The wider impact

Planned teaching & learning with AfL

Periodic assessment using APP

Identify areas where there is insufficient evidence

Identify areas where pupils have under-performed

Modify planning & teaching to secure a fuller

evidence base

Set targets, provide intervention and/or modify planning to focus on areas

of under-performance

An exemplar model

Choose 1 year group, (suggestion Year 9)

Look at the profile of that class

Select sample of between 4 and 6 students to fit the profile of

that class

Staff collect evidence for the sample students over a term

Teachers have first attempts at making judgments against the

assessment guidelines

Internal moderation of the evidence

Teachers refine their judgments

External moderation: 1 teacher/school to attend with a sample of the school sample

Implications for you – short term• If not done so already, select a member of your

department to lead APP if not yourself.

• Make your expectations of the lead member of department clear and talk through time frames and your vision for APP with them.

• In liaison with SLT, allocate times/dates for whole department introduction, standardisation moderation and evaluation.

Implications for you – long term

• Build APP slots into your calendar on an annual basis.

• Provide clear signposts for your team about evidence opportunities.

• TA levels vs. test based levels. How do you want this to work, and will that fit into the whole school ethos?

• Are there any CPD needs that have been highlighted as a result of the process?

• Consider the quality of the evidence that is being collected. What does it tell you?